The cracks come after a trio of bombshells. The first was
Trump's controversial firing of FBI Director James Comey last
week. He was let go while he was overseeing an investigation into
potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian
officials to swing the November presidential election in Trump's
favor.

Next were reports
on Monday that Trump had disclosed highly classified intelligence
from an Islamic State-connected source — later revealed to be
tied to Israel — with Russian diplomats during a recent Oval
Office meeting.

The final
eye-popper was a Tuesday report in The New
York Times that said Comey kept memos of his meetings with Trump
and documented one meeting in which the president reportedly said
he hoped Comey would let go of the FBI's investigation into
Michael Flynn, Trump's ousted national-security adviser. Legal
experts outlined how that could lead to a "very strong case of
obstruction of justice," the same charge that brought down former
President Richard Nixon.

"We've seen this movie before," Sen. John McCain of Arizona
said at a dinner
for the International Republican Institute on Tuesday. "It's
reaching Watergate size and scale. This is not good for the
country."

Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah, the Republican chairman of the House
Oversight Committee, tweeted Tuesday
night following news of the Comey memo that he has his "subpoena
pen ready" to obtain any memos that may exist of Comey's
conversations with Trump. He said of the latest
report: "On the surface that seems like an extraordinary use of
influence to try to shut down an investigation being done by the
FBI."

AshLee Strong, the spokeswoman for House Speaker Paul Ryan,
said it was
"appropriate for the House Oversight Committee to request this
memo," citing a "need to have all the facts."

Then, speaking at his weekly news conference on Wednesday, Ryan
said the situation "requires close examination," doubling-down on
a need for "the facts."

"We have an obligation to carry out our oversight no matter what
party is in the White House," he said, adding that Chaffetz
"appropriately requested the memo."

The Wisconsin Republican said there were "a lot of unanswered
questions," and that it was "obvious" there were people who want
to "hurt" Trump.

"Now is the time to gather all of the pertinent information," he
said.

Asked about how he and his fellow House Republicans will be
judged in the 2018 midterms, Ryan said he wanted people watching
on TV to know that they're "busy fixing problems," and the Trump
controversies are not all that is going on.

Sen. Lindsey Graham said in a statement Wednesday morning that,
while he does "not believe in trial by newspaper article or
investigations based on anonymous sources," Congress must call on
Comey to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee to "obtain
a full understanding of what President Trump may or may not have
done regarding the Russian investigation, including General
Michael Flynn."

"The sooner Mr. Comey testifies publicly before the Judiciary
Committee, the better for our nation," the South Carolina
Republican said. "For all practical purposes the political
process will be ground to a halt by these allegations."

"I will follow the facts — wherever they may lead," he added.

Lindsey
Graham.REUTERS/Jim
Bourg

Other Republicans, such as Reps. Mark Walker and Cathy McMorris
Rodgers, expressed concerns at the Times report, with Walker
telling CNN that
"to act like it's not a concern would be remiss on my part," and
McMorris Rodgers saying she thinks
"the White House needs to be open and transparent about what's
going on, too."

Meanwhile, after the news broke, networks were struggling to get
any Republican lawmakers on air to discuss the president.

Charlie Rose said on CBS "This Morning" Wednesday that the
network asked 20 Republican lawmakers and representatives at the
White House to appear on air and all declined.

Fox News anchor Bret Baier of "Special Report" said Tuesday night
that the network could not get a GOP member on air to defend
Trump for his program.

"We've tried tonight to get Republicans to come out and talk to
us, and there are not Republicans willing to go on camera tonight
as of yet," Baier on his Tuesday program.

On the program that follows his — "The Story" with Martha
MacCallum — Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho appeared on air to defend
Trump, who won his state by more than 30 points.

Additionally, the White House's own statement defending Trump
went unsigned, with no member of the administration tying their
name to it.

But even before Wednesday, the tone of some statements began to
sound more dire. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard
Burr, a Trump backer who is leading the committee's Russia
investigation, expressed
frustration that the White House was not getting back to him
as he was trying to figure out what Trump had said in his meeting
with the Russians.

"There need to be serious changes at the White House,
immediately," Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania told the Times.

While Republicans such as Toomey, McCain, Graham, Ryan, and
Chaffetz were not exactly Trump's biggest backers during the
election, it has become clear that the tenor is starting to
change.

Sen. Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee and a onetime candidate to be Trump's running mate,
told
reporters Monday that the White
House "has got to do something soon to bring itself under
control and in order. It's got to happen."

"Obviously they're in a downward spiral right now and they've got
to figure out a way to come to grips with all that's happening,"
he added.